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 Winters In Skokie

Pretty much we're finished with winter. As I look out my window I'm seeing the crocus and iris starting to show color. It was a fairly easy winter this year. Only used the snow blower once or twice. No below zero days that I remember. As I recall, however, seems to me that when I was a patrolman working the street, winters were a lot rougher. Is it my imagination or do you also remember some of these things about winters in Skokie. Winter arrived a little after Thanksgiving and lasted through Easter. Generally you were in good shape if you didn't ever have to get out of the car. It would snow one day and there would usually be 4 to 6 inches of white fluffy stuff for an hour. Then the snow would turn grey, then brown and finally black. The stuff would freeze solid and it would last a minimum of 8 weeks. Over time storms, flurries and snow showers would add to the quanity and whenever you did get out of the car there would be a huge pile of it between you and your destination. After the prescribed period of time, we would get a thaw, melting most of the snow. Then a few days later the whole cycle would start all over again. Sometimes mother nature would do something called 'the lake effect' which would dump anywhere from 10 inches to 2 feet on us, just a little bonus. Cold weather also had a big impact on us. One year in the late 70s we had several days of what they called "the Alberta Clipper" with temperatures falling to about 20 below zero. I swear, and some of you may remember, that after about a week of this it finally warmed up to about 18 degrees above zero. People were actually in their driveways washing their cars. Youngsters were running around in their shirtsleeves and those that had them were driving their convertibles with the top down. And remember that on any given day there was the dreaded wind chill factor. What we lacked in the way of winter weather, Sol Kale made up for in the material, design and supply of our uniforms. As I recall those uniforms served two functions. They kept us very cold in winter, and very warm in the summer. Starting from the top down our class A winter uniform consisted of the following: Saucer hat, which truly acted like a flying saucer every time it was caught by a gust of wind. On wet days you were allowed to cover your hat with a clear plastic rain cover. The fur lined hat wasn't approved until about the mid 70s. You were allowed to wear earmuffs. Leather motorcycle jacket. A few years earlier the standard refer overcoat was replaced by the leathers. The jacket had a minimal tufted lining and it only came down to your waist. To make it really comfortable there was an open gore on each side. Those of us who had high rise holsters wrapped the gore around the gun butt. If you had a slung holster the gore only served as a kidney cooler. The parka was not part of the uniform until sometime in the late 70s. You were allowed to wear a plain black scarf and plain unlined leather gloves. You wore a grey long sleeve shirt with a blue wool johnny coat. Vests were not allowed until the 70s. 16 ounce wool pants. After 1 day in the snow the cuffs of your pants turned white from the leeching of the road salt which worked its way up your boots onto the woolen material. Long johns were optional. Problem with them was that if you spent any time in the car you grew unconfortable. Shoes were plain black leather. Rubber boots were allowed as long as they were plain and black. You didn't ever want a certain lieutenant to catch you wearing sneakers or gym shoes under those boots. At any rate mukluks or any other lined or protected footwear were not allowed until the 70s. With all due respect to the department uniform committee our uniforms were woefully lacking in confort and protection. Once you started your shift you were ok. Everything was fine if the weather remained stable. If, however, there was any sudden change such as a drop in temperature or precipitation in the form of sleet or snow all hell would occur throughout the district. Traffic accidents would occur by the tens sometimes tying up the whole shift. Of course you had to stand by in the cold/snow and direct traffic because in most cases one or both cars needed towing. A traffic accident occurring at 5pm or 8am would insure that you would remain wet, cold and miserable for the remainder of the tour. The traffic signals had an inherent defect. It seems that the slightest amount of dampness coupled with a sudden temperature drop would cause them to stick. The beat car was called to the scene and traffic would have to be directed especially during rushes. Some of us had a highly coveted traffic signal box key. The door could be opened the signals put on flash and the officer returned to the safety and warmth of the car. If you didn't have a key you were stuck out in the cold/snow until relieved or the electrician from Meade arrived. This brings me to two stories that I would like to relate about those signals. I obtained my key when I was called to a malfunctioning box. As was the practice you got out of the car went to the box and kicked it as hard as you could. Sometimes jarring the box would recycle the signals. When I got to the box, there it was, someone had forgotten his key which had been left in the lock. Truely it was like finding money on the street. No longer would I have to depend on the kindness of other officers to respond with their key to help me out. At any rate the people at Meade electric got mad that we were putting the lights on flash. It seems that if the lights were left alone in there malfunctioning state it would be easier for the electrician to diagnose the problem. So in their wisdom the brass thought it better to waste a perfectly good 7 dollar an hour officer out in the wet and cold than have to have a 22 dollar an hour electrician diagnose a circuit. Orders came down. We were no longer allowed to put the lights on flash. Not long thereafter I was called to Touhy and Carpenter for malfunctioning signals. Of course me figuring that I was way more important than any electrician, immediately put the signals on flash. Unfortunately for me a certain lieutenant who was on his way home to dinner saw me do it. "Now Brucie you know we're not supposed to do that. See me in my office when you are through here. Oh yea give me 'the key'." Disciplinary action would follow. In the mid 60s a young recruit joined our ranks. He was here only for a short time, so a lot of you probably don't remember him. If not, you can ask old Satiro, he can tell you a story or two. It seems that this young recruit had a special relationship with his mom. She would drop him off at work at 3pm and be there promptly at 11pm to take him home. She packed him a lunch every day and on special occasions would meet him at the station on his lunch hour where they would share an egg salad sandwich. As winter approached she would send him off to work with a thermos of hot cocoa to fight off the cold. Everything was going along well for the two of them until one December rush hour when a viscious sleet storm struck town. As was the usual case in about 10 minutes time there were 5 or 6 car crashes, the power failed on the east end, alarms went off in the factories and of course the signal lights froze up in a few locations. Our young friend was sent to Dempster and Gross pt. where the lights were stuck on red. He was there for about 20 minutes when he called the dispatcher requesting relief. He was told to stand his assignment everybody was busy. About 20 minutes later he called radio again, complaining that the assignment was creeping into his lunch time. Again he was told to standby. About 15 minutes later he called to have a sargeant meet him. Of course our friend was upset. He missed lunch, was being ignored by the dispatcher, was cold and wet, and worst of all couldn't get to his car to have a cup of hot cocoa! Soon after he was relieved he appeared at the station where he began whining about his maltreatment. Sgt. Satiro is a veteran GI and an ex firefighter. He was intimate with deprivation and knew first hand the rigors of being cold, wet, hungry and tired. He didn't have much sympathy for the recruit so he just told him to put on some dry clothes and get back to work. As far as Satiro was concerned, although some of his officers would be miserable, on this particular night none would be harmed or injured as a result of the elements. Life went on, in June nobody would even remember this night. So, he thought until shortly after returning the recruit to the street his mother showed up at the counter. "How could you disregard the health and safety of her son. Why wasn't he relieved?" Satiro took an earfull, but acted like a gentleman. But I'd give a day's pay to see the look on his face. Shortly thereafter the young recruit and his mom were dismissed from the department. What part of 'probationary' didn't they understand? School/church crossings were trouble for me because I used to forget about them. I didn't mind having to handle them, 20 minutes spent on a crossing were twenty reasons that you couldn't write a ticket. One particular crossing had the officer tied-up for about 20 minutes at a time about 4 times from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm every day. It was for a religous school. The congregation leader thought that if he had a police officer standing in front of the school it would induce more parents to send their kids there. So orders came down, no more sitting in the car on this crossing, getting out only when kids showed up. This one you stood the elements for 20 minutes at a time whether there were kids present or not. On one particular bitter, windy day after arriving at the crossing I lingered in the car just a little too long. A certain lieutenant who was monitoring my activities immediately pulled up. Now Brucie you know the orders for this crossing. See me in my office. Disciplinary action would ensue. The Old Orchard detail made a lot of Christmases a whole lot better for a lot of us. It meant getting the kid a ten speed instead of a five. The wife maybe got a piece of jewelry instead of a mix-master. Oh but it could get pretty cold out there especially in the dreaded wind tunnel. Now some lieutenants were a pleasure to work for. They would even come by and let you warm-up in their car. However, there was this certain lieutenant whose orders were that you will stand your post. No going inside the stores, no sitting in cars. Of course on this one particular day this lieutenant assigned me to the tunnel. It was cold and snowing, and there were no shoppers or cars to be seen anywhere in the area. I ducked into the drugstore which was less than 25 feet from the post. Now Brucie you know what my orders were. See me in my office after the detail. When this lieutenant would sign up for the detail, no officers would work it. Everyone figured you could get into more trouble with him than what the detail was worth. It got so bad that they would trick us by switching lieutenants at the last minute. Anyway, disciplanary action did follow. Working the swift was another good detail. Many a garage was built and a lot of kitchens got remodeled as a result of that detail. The old timers used to hog all the fair weather months leaving the winter months for us new guys. When the weather turned bad the refuse department used to put out a 55 gallon garbage can in front of the swift. There was always garbage in it and if you were assigned that day you would pick up a few scraps of wood. When you started to get cold you threw a flare in the can and presto there was heat to warm frozen fingers and toes. Some citizen got mad, didn't like having to wait at the stop sign while a couple of lazy cops stood around a fire. Orders came down from Broadway Joe ( who was a gentleman and had some sympathy for us.) "Fellas he said, lets say you would accidentally throw a used flare into the can and the trash accidently caught fire, that's ok. But, no more throwing boxes and railroad ties onto the fire, Ok guys." That seemed fair enough until this one below zero evening when the fire started to dwindle. I picked up a two by four scrap that was nearby and pitched it in. Within seconds a certain lieutenant pulled onto the scene. Just barely opening his window an inch, so he wouldn't get too cold, the heater on that #20 Pontiac going full blast, uttered the following. Now Brucie you know what the captain said. See me in my office tomorrow. Disciplanary action was imminent. So, maybe now you can understand why my winters were so rough. I know that they were hard on some of you also, otherwise so many of you wouldn't be retired to the Gulf or Pheonix. You guys were so traumatized by the winters that today your willing to put up with 108 degree summers rather than face another winter in Skokie. Yea, yea I know, its a dry heat! Hello to all my friends (regardless of where you live.) Enjoy your retirement you've earned it.

Bud Rappe

"The Anatomy (female) Of An Auto Accident

 Or Why I Watch The Evening News."

Think back to working midnights. There was that time of the shift when the people ending their day and those who were about to start the new day were all home in bed. Nobody on the street but you and four or five other knuckleheads just like you who were on duty. If you did see something move you knew it was either some bad guy or some raving lunatic. It was just such a morning when I pulled out of one of the factory lots onto Touhy Ave. Right before my eyes was a huge ball of flame. Pulling up to the scene I find an auto resting in the bushes of one of the factories that lined the south side of the street. Instantly, I thought a stolen car had been dumped and the thief had set it on fire to cover his tracks. Then I hear this blood curdling scream emanating from the adjacent bushes and there I behold my first, last and only naked lady call. Karen was a beautiful 21 year old. She was the kind of girl men wanted around them, and other women hated. You knew by looking at her that she had always gotten everything she ever wanted, she was queen of the prom, she always had a date on Saturday night and nobody ever said no to her. She was about to graduate college and enter the world of journalism. You also knew she would probably make good because she had poise, personality and talent in the form of a set of perfect knockers courtesy of Dow Chemical. She was engaged to be married and when she stood next to her fiance they appeared to be Ken and Barbie for all intents and purposes. Yes, she had it all, she even had a dirty little secret. Karen was a very naughty girl. So what's this girl doing in the middle of the street, naked next to a wrecked car? Karen was in a state of shock, screaming at the top of her lungs "oh my God, what have I done? Oh my God!" At this point I assumed that there was another person in the car and I immediately ran toward the conflagration intending to be a hero. Forget it, no way was I going to save anything other than my big ass. Retreating back to the squad, I realized that my sole purpose this day was to render aid and comfort to this poor helpless naked lady. I put her in the back seat. All I had to offer her to protect her modesty was a dirty car wash towel and my field reporting manual. It was at this point that I discovered that she had been burned. Her entire backside from her buttocks to her ankles was red and blistered. All we could do was watch the car burn and wait for SFD. Next about 7 or 8 firemen were arguing and drawing straws to see who would get to rub salve on this poor girls burnt parts. At the scene we all thought she had had her clothing burned off of her. It was only after the real police from Lincolnwood arrived and found that her clothes were in a pile on the floorboards of her car, wrapped around the brake pedal, that we realized something was amiss. Sgt. Fisher was a real gentleman and an astute supervisor. He recognized the significance of how a naked lady call affects the career of a young patrolman. "Brucie, he says I want you to handle this call, and I know you'll do a good job." When I got to the hospital about a half hour later, I could overhear the nurses talking to Karen in the cubicle. They were commenting on her boobs, what a good job that Dr. so and so did and how much did they cost, which hospital did she go to etc. etc. When I finally got in to see her it was like I was her savior. She wept and hugged me and she kept on saying what a sick person she was. When I asked her what happened the whole story just poured out. Karen, it seems since the time that she got her learner's permit would from time to time sneak out of the house, borrow daddy's car and cruise the streets of Chicago looking for a thrill. Over the years one thing led to another and it appeared that the only way she was able to obtain a modicum of excitement was to drive around town at high rates of speed in the nude. On this particular morning while studying for finals she became bored and decided to go for a little jaunt. Somewhere around Clark and Devon she caught the attention of a couple of men in a truck at which point the fun began. As she led the men up and down the various streets, she reached a very high state of tension and somewhere in the 3500 block of Touhy things got out of hand, so to speak. Traveling west bound at a high rate of speed with an 18 wheeler in hot pursuit, at the exact same time she lost control of the muscles in her lower pelvic regions she also lost control of her fiance's late model Olds. When she came to her senses she found herself on top of some junipers that lined the foundation of one of the factories on the south side of Touhy. Realizing her predicament she tried to back out of the bushes but unbeknown st to her the wheels of the car were up in the air. She raced the engine for several minutes until the transmission started to overheat. When smoke filled the interior of the car she opened the door and the oxygen rushing into the car created a back draft effect causing the interior of the car to burst in flames. Apparently when she attempted to flee the car she was unable to as her blue jean shorts which at this point were around her ankles had entangled with the brake pedal. She fell from the car head first exposing her buttocks, private parts and legs to the licking flames. She told me that she didn't remember how she escaped but she would never forget the searing pain of the burns. She said she needed help and that she could not keep going on like this because her escapades were getting more and more bizarre. As we waited for her fiance and the Lincolnwood police to arrive she told me her life story. She aspired to be a TV anchorwoman. Her father had spent tens of thousands of dollars on orthodontists, speech coaches and even breast implants. She had several leads on radio and TV reporting jobs and she already had an agent lined up to flood the industry with her name and photos. When the Lincolnwood officer arrived we compared notes and just about everything she had told me had been borne out by his investigation. When we went back into the cubicle he asked her if she had been hurt at which time she removed the white sheet that covered her displaying her burnt backside plus a few other goodies that were not quite as burnt. By this time the Ken portion of her life arrived and protectively took charge. When the officer gave her a ticket Ken protested loudly "on what grounds?" The officer could have created a real scene had he gone into details but being a gentleman he told Ken she was driving negligently by having her pedals blocked. After taking a bond card Lincolnwood left and a short time later Karen was checked out of the hospital. In the waiting room after her release Ken and Barbie had a terrible fight, Ken accusing Barbie of being a whore and all whatnot. The nurses told them to take it outside where you could hear them carrying on in their car for several minutes. When things calmed down I went back inside to finish my report and recap events with the nurses. When I returned to the parking lot 15 minutes later the windows of their car were all steamed up and they were in the process of some type of lovemaking. All I could tell you is that Karen was quite a woman. In the span of about two hours she wrecked a car, almost burned down a factory, nearly killed herself, received some painful burns, racked up some serious hospital bills, was charged with a misdemeanor, lost a good portion of her wardrobe and was now doing the Chevy shuffle out in the parking lot of the hospital, all before sun-up. You could just imagine what the rest of her day would be like. When she appeared in court the Lincolnwood officer related that she pled guilty, lest the true story come to light. He also told me that she sent her regards to me and wanted me to know that "I would always be her hero." For quite a number of years whenever I travel to a strange city I find myself tuning into the ten o'clock news. I'd like to think that its my natural interest in current events but maybe its something more psychological. Once, I think it was in Columbus, Ohio there was a newswoman by the name of Karen. I thought it could've been her but I wasn't sure, she had her clothes on. Greetings to all and best holiday wishes, your friend Bud Rappe

"In Your Travels ...." Since retiring we have been fortunate enough to be able to travel somewhat. Being that we now have the free time we are able to pick up and go at the drop of a hat. Most trips taken have been to Europe in that we have found travel there is usually much cheaper than here and we have just about run out of interesting places to go in the US. However, wherever we go we find that you can't leave Skokie too far behind. Often the slightest incident will trigger long lost memories.. An old saying that the radio operators used to have was "in your travels check on this or be on the lookout for that." If I may I would beg your reader's indulgence and share some of my travel experiences with them. In Europe train travel is cheap, fast and convenient. Generally Trains travel between cities at @120 MPH. We've been on trains that have gone as fast as 180 MPH. Somewhere near Namur, Belgium the train we were on came to a screaching halt. We were delayed about 90 minutes. The best info we had was that the train had hit something. As we sat waiting I recalled an incident that had long ago been filed away. On a bitter January night in the mid 60's about 9:30 or so I had stopped out on Lehigh Rd. as I would sometimes do to watch as the Hiawatha made its final approach to Chicago from Seattle. The Milwaukee Line between Rondout, Il. and Irving Pk. Rd. is as straight as an arrow. Train drivers often used this stretch to gain back time lost during the course of their journey. Many times officers would time the various trains with radar. It was not unusual back then for them to reach speeds upwards of 90 mph. The gates at Howard went down and after several minutes when the train failed to approach I went out on Lehigh to investigate.

In the 7800 block where it sat, the engineer and conductor were out of the cab standing in ankle deep snow. They shouted to me that they had hit a car a couple of crossings back. We called Morton Grove and all 2 of their officers decked out in their best white socks checked their crossings but could not find anything. By this time the poor train driver was inconsolable. The man was actually sweating in below zero weather. In tears, he told me that he was going about 60 (Iknew better) and that the car drove around the gates in front of him. He said he could even see the people inside and swore it was a family. We relayed this data to M.G. but they were adament, nothing was found. I thought maybe this guy fell asleep and dreamt this or perhaps he was smoking dope, but then the train crew showed me the damage on the front of the engine and I could see for myself, this was bad. So there in the cold snow and moonlight police and firemen;train crew and passengers along with workers from the adjacent factories and passing motorists started to search for the gruesome remains of train vs. the car. The pieces that were left were no bigger than an open newspaper and had been strewn between Lincoln ave and Oakton St. Several suspicious stains were seen in the snow but no body parts were found. After about an hour of searching during which I was sure I suffered frostbite radio informed us to call off the search. When I got to the station I was told that it seems that one of Morton Grove's regulars after hoisting a few at Dilgs roadhouse came out, got into his car and drove it onto the tracks where it immediately stalled. After several attempts at restarting he gave up and went back into the tavern to warm up whereupon the evening Hiawatha wrote the rest of this story. I'm sure that the engineer probably left a world class load in his pants. Passengers were delayed and missed connections, but that's part of the excitement of travel. We never found out what delayed our train, we really didn't want to know..been and done. I thank you for your indulgence in airing this matter if you should still remain interested perhaps in the future I could relate some other amusing stories. Bud Rappe

 "No, You Bring The Beer This Time !"

In reading the story, by Dick Oldenburg, of Herman Carter's trip to the morgue, I couldn't help but recall an incident I had with dear old Herman Troy.

     It was one fine spring day on the day shift when I came in to the station, after lunch, to gas up the squad and turn in all the paper work I had generated that far.  I came out onto the old ramp and was about to get back into the car and leave when Herman came over and got into the front seat and told me he needed to get out of the building and get some fresh air.  I told him that a walk around the block would do him more good then going with me and that he was not my immediate supervisor anyway.  He insisted so what could I do?  We drove out and I began looking for some way to get rid of him, who enjoys a supervisor riding with him anyway?

     I drove down to Touhy and Lavergne and stopped the car, facing northbound.  A few minutes later a semi comes lumbering over the Edens bridge headed westbound.  I don't remember the drivers name anymore, but it was headed to the beer distributor at Lincoln and Klehm.  The lightbulb in my head virtually exploded into the on position and I pulled out behind him and followed till he turned north on Niles Center Road, where I made the stop.  I quickly got out of the car and told Herman to call us off with the stop.  I hurried to the cab of the rig and told the driver, who was upset because he was not fully loaded anyway, at being stopped.  I apologized and told him no tickets would be issued and that I just wanted to have some fun with the guy that was with me.  He agreed to go along with the gag.

     We walked to the back of the trailer and I told him to open the tailgate.  He obliged and once open, as Herman walked up to us, I said:  “it looks like you are about ten cases of beer overloaded.”  He responded with:  “oh for god sake, I know where your car is parked, just go and leave the door unlocked and it will be loaded before you get off duty.”  Herman appeared to clutch his chest and ran back to the squad car and dove in through the passenger door.  I walked back to the cab with the driver and made sure H.T.C. saw me shake the drivers hand.  I returned to the squad car and got in.  Herman screamed:  “take me back to the station, right now.”  I said:  “You just came out?”  He said:  “I said right now and that's an order.”  I returned him to the ramp and he didn't even wait till I came to a full stop when he jumped out and ran into the building.  I started to leave when I saw Capt. Joe Varallo pull up.  I approached him and told him what I had done.  We both laughed and he said he would have a little fun with him later.

     This was in the days when we had to fill out an activity sheet and turn it in every day.  The shift ended and I came in to turn in my reports and time sheet, in the old squad room that could be accessed through the old garage when it was attached to the main police station.  Herman Troy was collecting paper work and I turned mine in.  He didn't even look up at me.  I stepped into the hallway and into the locker room to change.  As I was leaving the building to go home, Capt. Varallo was coming down the hall toward the door.  As he reached the squad room door, I was going out the back door to the ramp.  I heard Joe kick the squad room door open and ask Herman, in a loud voice:  “Hey Herman, is any of that beer you guys got today, cold enough to drink yet?”  HERMAN'S HEART STOPPED AND HE NEARLY FELL OVER IN A HEAP.  I ran to my car, but he caught me and I won't repeat the exact words he used, but he said something about us being indicted and sent to jail for an ungodly amount of years.  I told him that he should have told Joe that the party would be tomorrow night at his house and we would bring a couple of cases.  He broke his pen in half and growled something as he walked away.

Stan Schultz                                          

	"The Job Is Never Finished Until The Paperwork Is Done" It was November of 1976 and Mike Langer, Jim Dahlman and myself all shared offices in Planning in the basement of the old building. Mike had been out of town and Jim and I didn't have very much to do (that was obvious) so since Mike was coming back the next day, we decided to fill his office with crumpled newspaper.  We drove to a recycling center to get the large amount of paper we needed and started crumpling and filling. It took hours to do and during the day everyone in the building at one point or another came and helped. When we were finally finished we closed the door (filling that space with paper also) to wait for his return    During the night a thought struck me that if one little spark got into the room the whole station would go up in flames.  On his return the next day Mike did not enjoy the humor that we had found in the project,  and after pushing out enough paper so he could get into the office, proceeded to try and ignore the situation. Pretty soon the paper from the office filled the basement to knee height.  It sure took a lot more bags of trash to get rid of the paper than it did when we got it at the recycling center....  But it was worth it !!.... Al Fournier

I Knew Michael When He Wasn't A Pervert or  I Watch Way Too Much TV. Watching Michael on the news triggered a memory. In the early 70s one midnight shift the entire watch was summoned to The Skokie Hilton. It seemed as though someone leaked info that the Jackson Five were staying there and at 1 AM about 75 screaming fans appeared in the lobby and parking lot clamoring to get a look at the group. In those days there was a theater in Golf Mill that was a popular venue for various concerts and plays. The out of town performers would stay at the Skokie Hilton as this was the only hotel available in the area. When we all arrived the Sargent had us clear the lobby and cordon off the front entry. We waited for about 15 minutes at the front entry and then 2 limos appeared in the parking lot and stopped at the front door. An entourage of about 10 people emerged from the autos, waved at the assembled fans then disappeared into the hotel. All I can remember of Michael was that he was very small among the others and he looked very sleepy as he passed by. I don't remember much about the incident but I would be able to testify, if called to the court in Santa Barbara that on the time and date in question I witnessed no perversions.   Walking through the cosmetics department of Fields one afternoon I stopped at the counter of one of my friends who worked there and to my surprise the customer that was standing at the counter happened to be the actress Della Reese. Before Ms. Reese was an actress she was a blues singer and she often made appearances at the Golf Mill Theater, overnighting at the Hilton. She spent her off duty hours shopping at Fields and Saks. The clerk told me that Ms. Reese was a regular, but never bought anything that was'nt on sale and always insisted on a complimentary gift.   Jimmy Carter, courting the Jewish vote, appeared at the syn agog located at Dempster and Kolmar to give a speech. There were a great number of State troopers, county deputies, secret service types and Skokie Police both on duty and hire back. Law enforcement outnumbered guests( who paid to get in) about 2 to 1. On completion of his speech Mr. Carter emerged from the auditorium into the foyer where I had been posted. There were numerous dignitaries and politicos crowded around him seeking a word and a handshake. As he finished up he thanked everyone and then looked toward me at my post. He made his way over to me and shook hands with me and told me "tell your chief thank you very much you all did a good job." Apparently he could tell by my uniform that I was a local and not one of the numerous personnel that had been assigned to escort him. I always regarded that as a sincere and gentlemanly thing that he did, which I will always remember. Mr. Carter was rather slight and bony in stature but I recall that his hand was "muscle bound" and skin was rather calloused. The poor man probably shook over a million hands in his career!   Speaking of synagogues, the people of Skokie and all the congregations in Niles township by various collections and fund raisers contributed 2 ambulances to the people of Israel sometime back in the late 60s. The ambulances were stored at the village garage for safe keeping until they could be shipped. Painted on the sides of the vehicles were words to the effect of "A gift to the People of Israel from the people of Niles Township." Recently while watching a documentary on the Israeli conflicts I saw some vintage footage of a bombing victim being placed into one of our ambulances.   I know that a lot has been written on and many of you have your individual memories about the Nazi march on Skokie, after reading last month's news letter, this is my personal recollection of what happened. Thousands of citizens surrounded village hall on that day. I believe we were put onto a Meirhofer bus and transported to the scene and interspersed around the building. About 15 minutes before H. hour someone in government decided to stop the march. About 8 or 10 names were read off and we along with a supervisor (I think it was LeRoy) were put into 2 squad cars and told not under any circumstances to let the group set foot into Skokie. We all raced down to Touhy and Cicero and it was about this time that we realized that most of the names chosen all weighed in excess of 250 lbs. and were all over 6 ft. tall. At the time we had compact sized Plymouth Satellite cars. I think the most amazing thing that happened that day was getting all of us fully equipped in riot gear into those cars! At any rate an intelligence unit who was following the group told us to stop them at Cicero south of Touhy. I think the group consisted of 2 carloads of about 7 teenage kids wearing disheveled brown uniforms with Nazi armbands. The Sargent spoke with them gave them some sort of writ, they piled back into their cars and returned to Chicago. Contrary to being disappointed the youngsters looked relieved. Everyone involved realized they would have gotten their asses kicked or possibly killed. I am sure and I believe intelligence at the time indicated that JDL people were there and that they may have been armed. When we got back to the hall we found that it was the gathered citizenry that was disappointed. Most present were raring to kick some butt. Recently I saw a TV documentary on The American Nazis and a small segment of footage depicted some of you on the steps in full riot gear. If you were on the department back then you would have been there and you probably have some different memories.   When Phil Donahue began his daily TV talk show which originated in Chicago he took up residency in Winnetka. Subsequently he married "that girl" Marlo Thomas. I first met Ms. Thomas when one of her step daughters required youth services of some sort due to an incident that happened in Old Orchard. She seemed to me to be a regular person that had a genuine concern for her child. A few years later I walked into the Skokie Valley ER for a break where I again saw Ms. Thomas as well as Mr. Donahue and several other people in the waiting room. The party seemed distraught. Ms. Thomas recognized me and approached. She told me that Mr. Donahue's teen age son had been involved in a roll over accident and was in grave condition. Shortly thereafter Mr. Donahue approached me and said that "when the news and TV find out about this they will be crawling all over the place." We arranged for the family to be put into a private waiting room and kept a watch at the entrance for the remainder of the night. No one leaked any information to the press and reporters never appeared. The young man recovered but only after some surgeries. Years later during a TV interview Mr. and Mrs. Donahue related that that incident had been one of the defining moments in their lives. At the time I recalled that they were just regular people who would have done or given anything to get their kid out of trouble.   On another occasion I walked into the ER to find her honor mayor Jane Byrne sitting on a gurney with a big bandage wrapped around her hand. It appeared that Ms. Byrne apparently slammed a car door on her finger. Thinking that this would not look good on her political resume she made arrangements with a family friend (an off duty Skokie Police Officer) to take her to a discrete emergency room for treatment. When I told friends of this incident they said "nah". But sure enough Ms. Byrne who happened to be in the habit of speaking demonstratively with her hands appeared on TV with a bandage on her finger. Again not too long ago while watching a retrospective of Chicago politics on TV there was Ms. Byrne giving a speech for posterity with a big black hematoma under one of her fingernails.   Finally, one night around shift change in the mid 80's, sitting in the Niles Twp. lot I see a suspicious auto cross the intersection of Lincoln and Gross PT a couple of times. On the third time I stopped the luxury auto at Lincoln and Laramie. I called for a 28 then got out to talk to the driver. He showed me a valid DL and registration and told me he had gotten off Edens to get gas but couldn't find an open station. I gave him directions and let him go. When I got back into the car, radio gave me the registration check. Within 10 seconds there were at least 5 squads there. "Did you know who that was?" I'm thinking I must have had some major felon that I just let go. Apparently I stopped some famous Chicago Bear Player. Not being an avid Football fan I did not realize who he was and to this day I could not recall his name but it must have been a big deal to draw so much attention. To add insult to injury I stopped the man right in front of the Indianapolis Colt's office building. Thank you for your attention. I hope that you have enjoyed these stories and that they may have spurred some memories within yourselves, so that you too may share some of your experiences with us. We are fortunate to have a forum such as this to relate our experiences and to record some of these incidents for history's sake. I know a lot of you are sitting on some pretty good stories. Give them up.   Best wishes and happy new year to all. Your friend Bud Rappe Add your content here